The president nominated Abid Riaz Qureshi to become a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

“I am pleased to nominate Mr. Qureshi to serve on the United States District Court bench,” said President Obama. “I am confident he will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.”

As The Washington Examiner reported, Qureshi is the first Muslim nominated to become a federal judge:

Qureshi, a partner in a Washington law firm who specializes in False Claims Act cases, healthcare fraud and securities violations, is the first Muslim nominated to the federal bench.
Qureshi is a partner for Latham & Watkins LLC in the Litigation & Trials department. Latham & Watkins is the highest grossing law firm in the world with over $2.6 billion in revenue and is considered one of the most prestigious.

After a seven week Congressional recess, the nomination of Qureshi signals confrontation over judicial appointments. Judge Merrick Garland, tapped to replace the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia, is yet to receive a Senate appointment hearing.

The Huffington Post acknowledged the nomination is unlikely to go any further, but lauded it for its “symbolic value”:

But the nomination carries a symbolic value: It lands in the midst of a chaotic presidential campaign in which GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that a Muslim federal judge wouldn’t treat him fairly because of his calls for banning Muslims from entering the country. Trump made similarly bigoted charges that a Latino federal judge would be biased against him because he has advocated for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Muslim advocacy groups likewise heralded the nomination.

“I commend President Obama for taking this important step in continuing to pick the best and brightest from every community to serve as part of our nation’s judiciary,” said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates.

“A judiciary that reflects the rich diversity of our nation helps ensure the fair and just administration of the law, and it is vital for American Muslims to be included,” Khera said, adding, “Mr. Qureshi’s profound commitment to the rule of law and justice for people of all backgrounds makes him an exceptional nominee.”

Wow. Well, if this happens then it’s about time. Something like 67 percent of the NFL players are African American or biracial. It’s about time we recognize these men as humans, not just super athletic warriors who entertain football fans on Monday and Thursday nights and all day Sunday.

You’ve got to believe that so many of them have been holding back what they really feel every time one of these videos showing an unarmed black man, woman or child being killed or assaulted. They fully understand this crisis, and those who wish to join the protest should be able to do so without fear of retribution of ANY kind.

I admire and respect Colin Kaepernick for what he is doing. This movement is going forward, and the outcome is more or less inevitable. There will be a more just society, it is truly a matter of time. Some people may fight like tigers to maintain the status quo, but they will lose. I’ve seen this before.

Education has had a powerful impact on my life and in the life of my family. I’m the eldest of three children of parents who were born and raised in the segregated south, specifically in Charleston, South Carolina. Both of my parents were raised in a community that believed in the value of education.

They were encouraged to excel academically and to attend college because they were surrounded by people who believed that education would lead them from poverty and a limited set of life choices to independence, fulfilling work, economic self-sufficiency, and the middle class.

The first in their families to go to college, my parents attended historically black colleges. After graduation, they married and moved to New York; like many African Americans they were part of the Great Migration from the South to the North, leaving Jim Crow segregation in search of greater opportunities for themselves and their children. My father went on to get his master’s and doctorate and become a professor of biology; my mother became an elementary school teacher and received her master’s degree.

Coming from a background shaped by educators like my parents, it is perhaps little wonder that I found my life’s work in the educational field. I’ve spent most of my career as a professor of English and African American Studies, teaching a variety of courses on topics such as modern and contemporary African-American literature, women’s writing of the African diaspora, black film, and literature and culture of the civil rights era. I’ve experienced my greatest sense of fulfillment when I’ve had students who enter my classes wrapped in timidity or self-doubt, shrouded in a sense that they don’t belong, and I’m able to help them discover their own power.

Although in my first year as president of Swarthmore I wasn’t able to teach, I was fortunate to visit a class where I saw the communal power of the intellectual exchange at work, when I sat in on the final session “The Politics of Punishment.”

……………….

The class was taught under the auspices of the Inside/Out Prison Exchange initiative. Half the class — the women — were Swarthmore students; the other half — the men — were incarcerated.

The Inside/Out Prison Exchange provides a remarkable opportunity for incarcerated persons and regular college and university students to learn together from dedicated, world-class professors. Both groups of students receive the benefit of working, studying with, and learning from people who may be very different from themselves. Both receive the opportunity to experience each other as human beings — not as stereotypes.

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Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.